What do you do when the anchor line breaks free?

[Johnoly]

There will often be a TAG in / out system. Tag in near the bottom

That's an interesting system and kinda makes sense. We've used tag systems on alot of boats but your post is the 1st I've heard about underwater & on the bottom tag board.

 

[johndiver999]

I remember quite a while ago, diving 100 miles offshore in 180 -200? feet or so, anchored on a wreck. We very rarely dove that deep and generally just drifted over spots, but we anchored in on this particular day.

Three of us split up to hunt fish; we left one guy sleeping on the boat. When I returned to where I thought the anchor was, it was not there. Narcosis and fear are a bitch. I was also now extra pissed that we hadn't woken the only guy on the boat when we went down.

I looked around some more, but I was very confused, because I could see some chum, (that we had dumped near the anchor), still remained up high on the hull where we hooked in. Didn't want to start a drifting deco under these conditions and then I heard the faintest screaming. Looked way down current, and thought I saw some bubbles 75 feet away. Looked 20 ft down on the sand and made out the drag marks of the hook. I took off downcurrent to catch the dragging hook and my "buddies".

My buddies had pulled the anchor when they started their ascent. When I asked them, "what about me"?, they said they figured I had gone up already on the line, (but of course I had not). A tag system would have been nice that day.

 

[Celt]

Sure, the seas and weather in the northeast Pacific Ocean are always "perfect". It's a tropical paradise here and the huge fleet of fishing boats never visits our dive sites.

Fog banks can be seen on the weather satellite imagery. If fog is an issue then wait for it to clear or dive somewhere else.
The notion of boat diving in fog is just insane. One minor mistake and even without a deco obligation a diver could easily surface out of sight of the boat crew. Then what?

Sometimes we end up paying for a boat ride and don't get to actually dive. Luck of the draw. People trying to "get their money's worth" leads to all sorts of preventable problems in an activity that, for most of us, is just a hobby. Enjoy the boat ride and take pictures of whales or something. Be sure to tip the crew.

Don’t tell me those huge fleets of fishing boats just get out of your way, and let you get on with diving. That’s nice. In the North Atlantic fog banks have an uncanny habit of appearing when you least expect them. This season staying at home when the weather was a bit off would mean no diving so that’s not an option. Yes it nice to drift along in flat calm under a bag with the sea to yourself but not always possible.

 

[Nick_Radov]

Don’t tell me those huge fleets of fishing boats just get out of your way, and let you get on with diving. That’s nice.

If there's a fishing boat already at our target site then we go somewhere else. But when the dive boat is flying an Alfa flag and moving to follow drifting divers, fishing boats are pretty good about obeying the rules of the road. They're not trying to be jerks or get in trouble with the Coast Guard. (Small sailboats seem to be more of an issue with not keeping a proper lookout or monitoring the VHF.)

In the North Atlantic fog banks have an uncanny habit of appearing when you least expect them.

The weather satellite imagery usually gives some advance notice of a fog bank moving in. But the risk of rapidly changing conditions is why we also limit total exposure time for offshore dives. If fog might be a factor then better to do 2 short dives instead of 1 long dive.

This season staying at home when the weather was a bit off would mean no diving so that’s not an option. Yes it nice to drift along in flat calm under a bag with the sea to yourself but not always possible.

The sea here is seldom flat calm. We often drift through large swells and some wind waves. It's not a problem (within reason).

 

[Celt]

If there's a fishing boat already at our target site then we go somewhere else. But when the dive boat is flying an Alfa flag and moving to follow drifting divers, fishing boats are pretty good about obeying the rules of the road. They're not trying to be jerks or get in trouble with the Coast Guard. (Small sailboats seem to be more of an issue with not keeping a proper lookout or monitoring the VHF.)

The weather satellite imagery usually gives some advance notice of a fog bank moving in. But the risk of rapidly changing conditions is why we also limit total exposure time for offshore dives. If fog might be a factor then better to do 2 short dives instead of 1 long dive.

The sea here is seldom flat calm. We often drift through large swells and some wind waves. It's not a problem (within reason).

Thanks for the advice, from now on instead of grappling in I’m going to drift along with my little flag and insist everyone keeps out of my way. Love it.

 

[billgraham]

For some of our offshore dives the current is strong enough that I wouldn't even make it down the line without a scooter.

What happens when the scooter dies?

 

[Nick_Radov]

What happens when the scooter dies?

Abort the dive. If the scooter dies during the descent then you won't have any deco obligation and can go straight to the surface. The boat will be nearby to pick you up. In the very unlikely event of a total scooter flood or runaway you might have to cut it loose, or maybe put a lift bag on it if the situation allows.

 

[billgraham]

I haven't done heaps of scooter diving, but I have owned and dove with them, and I have seen floods, runaways, and sudden death. Here's a good one: We were diving off a small boat on a wreck in about 130 FSW. We would throw the chain and the line on the wreck, circle around, I'd splash and do the tie in, and then my friend would dive when I surfaced and untie. We had an equipment line that reached down to about 40 feet, and when I saw my friend move over to that, I'd haul up the anchor line. I'm pulling it up and it feels heavy, I looked down, and his yellow Mako scooter was attached to the chain and zooming around like an angry bee! He muscled it back to the chain and clipped it off when the trigger broke.

 

[Nick_Radov]

Ha ha, ya those old Makos were kind of janky. I never owned one but borrowed them a couple times. They really weren't designed to go deep and it was tough to keep them working at all. The newer generation of scooters tends to be more robust.

 

[billgraham]

Ha ha, ya those old Makos were kind of janky. I never owned one but borrowed them a couple times. They really weren't designed to go deep and it was tough to keep them working at all. The newer generation of scooters tends to be more robust.

Yes, and the fact that they break hasn't changed either. I know I replaced the trigger on my SS scooter at least once. The current generation have displays and menus, I'm not sure whether that's better or worse. If I was wreck diving, I'd want the Seacraft Go. I've been seeing a lot of them here and everyone seems impressed with the capability in a tiny package.